Center for Assessment & Improvement of Learning

Reports & Publications

• Technical Information
• Machine Scoring of Student Responses on the CAT
• Assessing Critical Thinking Skills in STEM and Beyond (In M. Iskander (ed.), Innovations in E-learning, Instruction Technology, Assessment, and Engineering Education, 79-82. 2007, Springer)
• Project CAT: Assessing Critical Thinking Skills (In D. Deeds & B. Callen (eds.), Proceedings of the National STEM Assessment Conference. NSF, 2007)
• NSF Final Report (Project CAT: Assessing Critical Thinking Skills)
• CAT National Dissemination: Assessment and Improvement of Learning (In Inventions and Impact 2: Building Excellence in Undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education. 2008, NSF/CCLI & AAAS.)
• Faculty Driven Assessment of Critical Thinking (In Technological Developments in Networking, Education and Automation, 2010, Springer. Proceedings of the 2009 International Joint Conferences on Computer, Information, and System Sciences, and Engineering).
• Engaging Faculty in the Assessment and Improvement of Students' Critical Thinking Using the Critical Thinking Assessment Test (In Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 43:2, 44-49, 2011).
• Getting Faculty Involved in Assessing and Improving Students' Critical Thinking (In A Collection of Papers on Self-Study and Institutional Improvement, 2011, Higher Learning Commission - North Central Association).
• Identifying courses that improve students' critical thinking skills using the CAT instrument: A case study (In Proceedings of the 10th Annual International Joint Conferences in Computer, Information, System Sciences, & Engineering)
• Changing How Faculty Assess Student Learning: Using the CAT as a Model for Designing Course Assessments. (In INQUIRY: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines, 30 (3), 38-48, 2015)
• National Dissemination of the CAT Instrument: Lessons Learned and Implications (In Proceedings of the AAAS/NSF Envisioning the Future of Undergraduate STEM Education: Research and Practice Symposium, 2016.)
• Moving Beyond Assessment to Improving Students' Critical Thinking Skill: A Model for Implementing Change (In Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 16(4), 44-61, 2016)

• Harris, Kevin R. Assessing Course Impacts on Critical Thinking: The Relationship between Self-Reported Learning Gains and Performance, Tennessee Technological University, Ann Arbor, 2015. ProQuest, https://search.proquest.com/docview/1691127261.

• Lisic, Elizabeth S. Creating Change: Implementing the Critical Thinking Assessment Test (CAT) as Faculty Development to Improve Instruction, Tennessee Technological University, Ann Arbor, 2015. ProQuest, https://search.proquest.com/docview/1728162696. 

Presentations

• 2019 SACS/COC Annual Meeting
• 2018 AACU General Education and Assessment: Foundations for Democracy
• 2018 WASC Academic Resource Conference
• 2017 SACS/COC Annual Meeting
• 2016 Drexel Conference on Teaching & Learning
• 2015 National Academy of Science Conference on Assessing Hard-to-Measure Cognitive, Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Competencies
• 2015 ISSOTL Conference
• 2015 Drexel University Annual Conference on Teaching & Learning Assessment
• 2015 Texas A&M Assessment Conference Concurrent Session
• 2015 Texas A&M Assessment Conference Poster Session
• 2014 SACS/COC Annual Meeting
• 2014 WASC Academic Resource Conference
• 2014 Texas A&M Assessment Conference
• 2013 ISSOTL Conference
• 2013 Higher Learning Commission Annual Conference
• 2013 Texas A&M Assessment Conference
• 2012 SACS/COC Annual Meeting
• 2012 Reinvention Center Conference
• 2012 WASC Academic Resource Conference
• 2012 Higher Learning Commission Annual Conference
• 2011 SACS/COC Annual Meeting
• 2011 Higher Learning Commission Annual Conference
• 2011 WASC Academic Resource Conference
• 2010 SACS/COC Annual Meeting
• 2010 WASC Academic Resource Conference
• 2010 AACU Annual Meeting
• 2009 ABET Best Assessment Processes Symposium XI

Links to User Experiences and Perspectives on the CAT

• Arkansas State University - Faculty Driven Assessment
• Montana State University - Utilizing Competing Narratives
• Idaho State University - Assessing the Impact of Debates
• San Francisco State University - Professional Development
• Miyazaki International College - Active Learning
• Texas A&M Assessment Center - Taking Assessment University-Wide

Other Useful Links

• IDEAL Problem Solver

Publications by CAT users

• Bielefeldt, A. R., Paterson, K. G., & Swan, C. W. (2010). Measuring the value added from service learning in project-based engineering education. International Journal of Engineering Education, 26(3), 535-546.
• Collins, D., Davis, D., & Garbarino, J. (2017, February). Learning-at-the-bench after-school program (LAB-ASP): Impacts of research experiences for students from low-resource backgrounds. Poster presented at the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS), Knoxville, TN.
• Gasper, B., Minchella, D., Weaver, G., Csonka, L., & Gardner, S. (2012). Adapting to Osmotic Stress and the Process of Science. Science, 335(6076), 1590-1591.
• Grant, M., Smith, M. (2018). Quantifying assessment of undergraduate critical thinking. Journal of College Teaching & Learning, 15(1), 27-38.
• Grove, K., Dekens, P. S., & Dempsey, D. P. (2012, December). Sustaining professional development gains after the NSF-CCLI grant ends. In AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts (Vol. 1, p. 0728).
• Partlow-Lefevre, S. T. (2012). Arguing for Debate: Introducing Key Components for Assessment of Intercollegiate Debate Programs. Contemporary Argumentation & Debate, 33.
• Shannon, L. and Bennett, J. (2012). A Case Study: Applying Critical Thinking Skills to Computer Science and Technology. Information Systems Educational Journal, 10(4), 41-48.
• Frisch, J., Jackson, P., & Murray, M. (2013). WikiED: Using web 2.0 tools to teach content and critical thinking. Journal of College Science Teaching, 43(1), 70-80.
• Gasper, B., & Gardner, S. (2013). Engaging Students in Authentic Microbiology Research in an Introductory Biology Laboratory Course is Correlated with Gains in Student Understanding of the Nature of Authentic Research and Critical Thinking. Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education, 14(1).
• Gill, T. G., & Ritzhaupt, A. D. (2013). Systematically evaluating the effectiveness of an information systems capstone course: Implications for practice. Journal of Information Technology Education: Research, 12(1), 69-94.
• Goldsmith, R. E. (2013). Encouraging Critical Thinking Skills among College Students. The Exchange, 2(2).
• Gottesman, A., & Hoskins, S. (2013). CREATE Cornerstone: Introduction to Scientific Thinking, a new course for STEM-interested freshmen, demystifies scientific thinking through analysis of scientific literature. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 12(1), 59-72.
• Heft, I., & Scharff, L. (2017). Aligning best practices to develop targeted critical thinking skills and habits. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 17(3), 48-67. doi: https://doi.org/10.14434/v17i3.22600
• Hudson, T., & Sipes, S. M. (2014). Developing Critical Thinking Skills in a Mixed-Signal Test and Product Engineering Course Paper presented at 2014 ASEE Annual Conference, Indianapolis, Indiana. https://peer.asee.org/20287
• Primm, T., Rowe, M., Gillespie, M., Rose, L., & Shannon, L. (2013). Extraordinary Claims: An Innovative Approach to Engage Student Interest and Enhance Critical Thinking Skills in General Education Science Courses. Tested Studies for Laboratory Teaching (ABLE Proceedings, volume 33).
• Jones, S., Harrington, K., & Scharff, L., (2013). An integrated effort to develop and assess critical thinking skills. Paper presented at the NCA Higher Learning Commission Annual Conference, Chicago. http://hlcommission.org/
• Wertz, R., Saragih, A., Fosmire, M., Purzer, S., & Van Epps, A. (2013). An evaluation of the Critical Engineering Literacy Test (CELT) Instrument through Item Analysis and Comparison to the Critical Assessment Test (CAT). Conference Paper Illinois/Indiana - ASEE Section Conference (Angola, IN).
• Weatheron, Y., Mattingly, S., Kruzic, A., Frost, H., & Rahman, Z. (2014, June). Critical Thinking in the Curriculum: Making Better Decisions. In 121st ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition June 15-18, 2014.
• Perry, D. K., Retallick, M. S., & Paulsen, T. H. (2014). A critical thinking benchmark for a department of agricultural education and studies. Journal of Agricultural Education ,55(5), 207.
• Schneider, K., Bickel, A., & Morrison-Shetlar,A. (2014). Planning and Implementing a Comprehensive Student-Centered Research Program for First-Year STEM Undergraduates. Journal of College Science Teaching, 44(3), 37-43.
• Alvarez, C., Taylor, K., & Rauseo, N. (2015). Creating Thoughtful Salespeople: Experiential Learning to Improve Critical Thinking Skills. Traditional and Online Sales Education. Marketing Education Review, 25(3), 233-243.
• Carson, S. (2015). Targeting critical thinking skills in first year undergraduate research course. Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education, 16(2), 148-156.
• Gavin, K., & Perry, D. K. (2015, May). Utilizing Competing Narratives to Increase Critical Thinking Abilities. In American Association for Agricultural Education Annual Conference May 19-22, 2015 (p. 326).
• Kaupp, J., Simper, N., & Frank, B. (2015). Triangulated authentic assessment in the HEQCO Learning Outcomes Assessment Consortium. Proceedings of the Canadian Engineering Education Association .
• Perry, D. K., Paulsen, T. H., & Retallick, M. S. (2015). The impact of a capstone farm management course on critical thinking abilities. Journal of Agricultural Education ,56(2), 13-26.
• Rowe, M., Gillespie, M., Harris, K., Koether, S., Shannon, L. & Rose, L. (2015). Redesigning a general education science course to promote critical thinking. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 14(3).
• Basha, S., Drane, D., & Light, G. (2016). Adapting the Critical Thinking Assessment Test for Palestinian Universities. Journal of Education and Learning ,5(2), 60.
• Ransdell, M. (2016). Design process rubrics: Identifying and enhancing critical thinking in creative problem solving. In Proceedings of the Interior Design Educators Council Conference.
• Thompson, M., & Jung, I. (2016). Making the Global Local: Twenty Years at Miyazaki International College, Japan. In Liberal Arts Education and Colleges in East Asia (pp. 63-73). Springer Singapore.
• Mork, C. M., & Howard, A. M. An Investigation into Active Learning at MIC: A Beginning and the Way Forward. 比較文化= Comparative culture, The Journal of Miyazaki International College, 20, 67-86.
• Al-Mazroa, S., Retallick, Michael, Miller, Gregory, & Skaar, Brad. (2017). Assessment of Critical Thinking Skills in Undergraduate Animal Science Students and Curriculum, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. 
• Gao, M. (2015). Using Inquiry Teaching to Promote Student Critical Thinking and Content Knowledge in a Nonmajors Biology Course. Education Journal, 4(4), 182.
• Styers, M. L., Van Zandt, P. A., & Hayden, K. L. (2018). Active learning in flipped life science courses promotes development of critical thinking skills. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 17(3). https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.16-11-0332.
• Chase, A., Clancy, H., Lachance, R., Mathison, B., Chiu, M., & Weaver, G. (2016). Improving critical thinking via authenticity: The CASPiE research experience in a military academy chemistry course. Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 18(1). DOI: 10.1039/C6RP00171H. 
• Woodley, S.K., Freeman, P.E., & Ricketts, T.D. (2019). Combining novel research and community engaged learning in an undergraduate physiology laboratory course. Advances in Physiology Education, 43,  110-120. https://doi.org/10.1152/advan.00177.2018.